Improvement in adding-pencils



UNITED STATES PATENT @FFrcE.

JOHN'J. WHITE, .OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

' IMPROVEMENT lN ADDING-PENCI LS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent bio-177,775, dated May 23,1876; application filed April 10, 1876. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN JosIAn WHITE, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedAdding-Pencil, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to an adding-pencil in which a pointer is made toturn a grooved revolving cylinder, and move a pointer along a scale onthe case containing the cylinder, to record thereon the number to beadded by pressing the pointer upward in the case a distancecorresponding to the number to be added to the record; and it consistsin, first, the sliding indicator, contrived to be connected with ordetached from the spiral groove by a pin running through it, with ashort screw turn or it may be a spring, or like suitable device, (thelower end may be made to run easier in the groove by having on it amoving collar)--the object of this arrangement being to enable theoperator, by turning or raising the pin, to move the indicator freelydown or up, and set it at once anywhere in the longitudinal slot;second, the swivel on which this rack slides up and down, arranged bypins to make only 'onefourth of a revolution, so that, with a spring tokeep said rack normally engaged with the pinion, pressure on a trigger,or key, or lever will throw it out of gear for the op eration of thenext-described feature of the invention. If a reversed motion should befound preferable, or, in other words, the normal condition of the rackto be out of gear, then the action of the spring and trigger, 860., tobe reversed, so that by pressing the latter the rack will engage withthe pinion.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved adding-pencil. Fig. 2 is asectional elevation of the case. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of thecase andthe revolving cylinder. Fig.4is a transverse section on line XX, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line Y Y; and Fig. 6 isatransverse section on lineY Y, Fig.2.

A is a tubular case, having a long slot, B, from end to end, along whichis a column, G, of tens, hundreds, and upward, and in said tube is ahollow revolving cylinder, D, having a spiral groove, E, for working apointer, F, up and down the tube, and also having the spiral column offigures G, representing the units or digits of the product of theaddition. The pointer or indicator is a mere block or slide, fitted tothe tube, so as not to be detached, (see H, Fig. 4,) with a screw, I 5or it may be a spring, or other device, connecting it with the groove ofthe cylinder, so that it can be readily detached for shifting it alongthe cylinder more quickly than by revolving it to return the indicatorto the zero-point. The rack J or pointer slides into the hollow cylinderwhen pressed down on the book or slate, and revolves the cylinder byturning the pinion K to move the indicator along the column 0 for addingnumbers to it, the parts being so grooved that the pointer will be movedalong the record in the proportion that the rack is pressed in, so thata number will be added corresponding to the number on the rack pressedup to the gage L. I propose to extend the teeth of this rack along it tothe end used as a pointer, thereby enabling it to be numbered andextended as far as may be desirable to increase the capacity of the in:strument. This rack slides up and down in a swivel, M, which is turnedby the thumbbit N to throw the rack out of gear when it is to be letdown after each operation, and it is turned back by the spring 0. Themovement of the swivel is limited by the shoulders P and pin Q, so thatif it should be preferred to reverse the arrangement, so that the springshall keep the rack out of gear, the thumbbit maybe used for throwingitin when required. The top of the rack has a hook, It, which is connectedby a spring, S, of any kind, to a fixed point at T, to thrust down therack. This connection is for the purpose of enabling the spring to beunhooked at pleasure for sliding the rack up into the cylinder when theinstrument is not used, both for security, and

that the bottom of the pencil may be covered.

A light spring or detent pawl, U, is used in connection with the pinion,gearing with the cylinder to prevent any back motion.

I propose, in practice, to attach at the upper end one or moreadditional sets of cylinders and cases, successively, the cylindershaving their ends connected by dowel-pins to make their motion the sameto increase the capacity of the instrument.

2 Haws v Having thus described myinventiomwhat I combination with stoppin Q, thumb bit N, claim as new, and desire to secure by. Letters andspring 0, substantially as described. Patent, is-

1. The sliding indicator F, detachably con- JOHN J. WHITE. nected to thespirally-grooved revolving cyl- Witnesses: inder, substantially asdescribed. EDW. H. WILLIAMSON,

2. The swivel M, having shoulders P, in SAML. G. DIEHL.

